Wolf’s Ridge Brewing to reopen historic Worthington Inn on April 29

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing is turning one of Worthington’s best-known addresses back into a working restaurant. Wolf’s Ridge at Worthington Inn is set to open April 29 at 649 High St. in Old Worthington, starting with lunch service and reduced seating before moving toward full operations.

The opening gives beer travelers a concrete new stop: a historic inn paired with one of Columbus’ best-known craft breweries. The project includes a dining room, taproom and Hickory Room, a bigger hospitality footprint than a single restaurant relaunch. Wolf’s Ridge, founded in 2013 by Bob and Alan Szuter, announced plans in November 2025 to take over the vacant Worthington Inn space, and Bob Szuter has described the goal as balancing the building’s historic feel with a refreshed dining experience.

That building carries serious local weight. The Worthington Inn first opened in 1835 as the family home of Rensselaer and Laura Kilbourn Cowles, became the Union Hotel in 1864, and was renamed Old Worthington Inn in 1952. Hotel rooms were converted to condominiums in 2007, and the restaurant closed at the end of 2018. The site has been part of the community for nearly two centuries, which is exactly why this reopening lands as more than a routine expansion.

The food side is being built to fit that setting. The opening menu leans into approachable tavern fare, including blonde French onion soup, a spring lettuce salad with herbs and sherry honey vinaigrette, fish and chips made with Innkeeper beer-battered haddock, and the WRB burger built on locally sourced beef. A deeper dinner menu will add confit cod cheeks, pork chops and sirloin filet.

Wolf’s Ridge also is staffing the project with familiar names. Columbus native Sean Schultz will serve as general manager, and Kris Ludwig, formerly of Wolf’s Ridge downtown, is executive chef. That combination should matter to regulars who care as much about execution as atmosphere, especially in a room that has long been associated with special-occasion dinners, anniversaries and graduations.

For Worthington, the reopening is a preservation-minded reset with a working brewery connection. For Wolf’s Ridge, it extends the brand beyond its downtown brewery and taproom into one of Columbus’ oldest communities, where the building itself is still part of the draw.